Durango gets snow for Christmas

“It’s beautiful!” said Molly Gutilla, who was skiing Saturday morning along Rim Trail.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald

“It’s beautiful!” said Molly Gutilla, who was skiing Saturday morning along Rim Trail.

The question was on many Durangoan’s mind: Would Christmas this year be white?

The answer now is a resounding “yes,” and by early Saturday afternoon, there were accumulations of as much as two feet in the high country.

New snow accumulation for the rest of this week is likely to be fairly minimal, according to the National Weather Service. There are chances for snow every day this week, but little will stick, and daytime highs will be in the low to mid-30s, NWS reported on its website.

Still, the snowfall that started Thursday and Friday, depending on location, added some much-needed powder to area ski resorts.

As of 10 a.m. Saturday, Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort reported 16 inches of new snow for the previous 48 hours. About half of that was daytime accumulation Saturday.

That two days of snowfall brought the midmountain depth to about 25 inches, DMR said. About 13 percent of the mountain is open, with two lifts operating.

Telluride is expected to see slightly more snow accumulation during the next week than Durango, according to NWS. There is a 50 percent chance of snow today, falling to 20 percent by Tuesday but then rising to “likely” by Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Temperatures will stay below freezing until Friday, when the Telluride daytime high is predicted to climb to 36 degrees, NWS reported.